Western breeding questions.

[rojarr2003]

Ok not so much breeding questions, but I have a 400 gram het albino female that has suddenly gotten very swollen. I am pretty positive that she is gravid at this point.

My first question is do they glow like the ball pythons while building. She shed 10 days ago and she got dramatically lighter.

The next question is about lay boxes. I have read that the hole needs to be in the top, is this absolutely necessary or can I put the hole in the side.

Please folks any help would be greatly welcomed.

[mainbutter]

Regarding lay boxes:

Necessary? No.

Easy? Yes.

My lay box is really cheap tupperware. Cut a small hole in the lid, maybe a 1.5'' diameter roundish shape. Fill with long fiber sphagnum moss, moisten it. Good to go.

[rojarr2003]

Thanks for the reply, I will hit the local stores tomorrow and see what I can find. This is assuming she doesn't lay before I get it done.

[TJ_Burton]

I have never really noticed an obvious "glow" like that which ball python females show while building; Westerns build and ovulate much faster than pythons do.
If you girl is looking much more filled out than normal, than there is always the chance that she is gravid. Have you paired her to any males as of yet?

[rojarr2003]

I have not paired her, but the week before I brought her home she was with the father of my albino male. This was about 5 months ago. In the last week or so she has become very busy and roaming the tub for hours at a time and she refused food for the first time this weekend. And tonight she struck at me for the first time as well.

[rojarr2003]

Turns out she was gravid and so far has laid 5 eggs. Unfortunately she broke 2 of them. Problem is she laid the first one Thursday, then 3 on Friday. The last one this morning. Looks like she has at least that many more in her, but she is taking her sweet time to give them up. Has any one else ever experienced this as well?